Author: Raechele Pope-Namaste

We spent our day in the ancient water village of Zhujiajiao. We started our day off with a gondola ride through the winding canals of the village. Although Dr. Pope-Namaste wanted to sit next to me, Ashley, Adhav, Arya, and Elena had the privilege. The gondola ride itself was pretty brief, but it gave us Read more about Gondola Rides and Shopping[…]

On Tuesday, we visited the Gold Apple Bilingual Boarding School. As we entered the school, we encountered student who were just having a regular school day. The school was gigantic and its campus is bigger than some colleges. There were kids attending the boarding ranged from ages 3-19. After we finished lunch in the cafeteria, Read more about Kids: The Same Wherever You Go[…]

I’m not particularly fond of heights, but going to the 88th floor of the Jin Mao tower was still breathtaking. I high speed elevator that traveled 9 meters (approximately 30 feet) a second took us up to the observation deck in under a minute. The view was amazing even tho’ it was a little foggy. Read more about A “Ding-Hao” Day[…]

On Thursday, we went to see the Shanghai Acrobat show. It was really amazing! For the first act, a group of women who did tricks and balancing acts with large drums. The second act was a man balancing on four poles. It was a writing theme act – so projected on a large screen behind Read more about Shanghai Acrobats – A Fantastic Show[…]

On our last day in Beijing (earlier this week) we visited the Temple of Heaven. Right outside of the temple is a huge park where many people go to be outside, whether playing cards or getting some exercise. One of my favorite things to see was a group of people dancing in the park. Of Read more about Another Perspective on Dancing in the Park[…]

Our concerts were in Beijing, Chang Zhou, and Shanghai. All three of the concerts were different. The one in Beijing was in a very large hall with an older audience. Personally, I believe that the first was the best one because the audience was quiet and almost everyone seemed like they genuinely wanted to be Read more about What We’ve Prepared for All Year[…]

On April 2nd, the BSS Friendship Touring Ensemble traveled to the Chang Zhou Foreign Language School. Chang Zhou is Buffalo’s Sister City so this was a special experience for everyone involved. We engaged in an exchange concert with students from the middle school. They performed first on tradition Chinese instruments, such as the zheng, and Read more about World Harmony Through Music Indeed[…]

What I was expecting was a day of enormous rollercoasters overlooking the skyscrapers of China. What I got was an unsolvable maze of a so-called amusement park. Growing up in a family of three older brothers, I have been riding rollercoasters for as long as I can remember. I first rode the Superman at age Read more about Adventures in DinoPark[…]

We’re all familiar with the phrase, “music is a universal language,” and throughout this journey those words are becoming an increasing reality. Nowhere has that sentiment become more evident than during the group’s performances in China. As a chaperone and a member of the audience, I’ve had the opportunity to witness first-hand the power this Read more about Beyond Words: Finding Unity in Music[…]